Disney!

I grew up two hours from Disney.  I'm not sure how many times I've been, but a lot.  As a kid I didn't realize how lucky I was.  I've been wanting to take Grace to Disney World for a while, but I didn't want to take Jake.  Matt didn't really want to go either.  It's very expensive, there are lots of people and long lines.  I guess I wasn't sure I wanted to go either, especially when having a great time at the beach for free is the alternative.  I decided she's at a great age to go and I'm not sure when we'd be back so I better take her while I have the chance.  I just wished it didn't have to be over spring break, one of the busiest times for Disney.

I spent a lot of time on the internet learning how best to use Fastpasses so we wouldn't spend half the day in line.  I'm glad I did, because we got to go on a lot of rides.  We had to get up at 5am but it was worth it to get there early, we had a great time.  It was one of those days where everything just seemed to be going our way.  As soon as we walked in the park, we were offered a ride on an old time car (while everyone else was walking).  It was pretty cool to have a private ride right to the castle.  I was also able to skip the line on to the teacup ride and as I was standing in a long line for Thunder Mountain Fastpasses, someone just gave me theirs!  Overall, it was a great day!!!

Here's our special ride down Main Street.  There were some people around early, but wait until you see the crowds later.

We went on the Haunted House (our first ride), It's a Small World, the new Ariel ride (Journey under the sea) and then headed to the Tomorrowland Speedway.  The race cars were not as fun or as fast as I remember, but Grace liked it.  She lost her hat on this ride, which I thought we'd never see again.  But since, it was our lucky day, someone brought it to us after we got off the ride.

Next was Dumbo and the Teacups.  Grace and my dad were going to ride the Teacups while I went to get Space Mountain fastpasses.  I was headed back to meet them and saw they were first in line.  I was standing outside the gate to take pictures of them on the ride when a ride worker opened a secret gate right in front of me to let some other people on.  I asked if I could jump in with my daughter and she said sure!!!   

The Barnstormer kid roller coaster was next.  Grace wanted to ride by herself, so my Dad and I squished into the car in front of her.

We rode Peter pan and ate an early lunch at 10:30am.  Then we rode Pirates of the Carribean, went on Tom Sawyers Island, rode Thunder Mountain (with Fastpasses someone gave us) and watched a parade.  We were also lucky in getting a great spot for the parade.  Grace sat on the ground and watched while eating a frozen lemonade.

The standby line for Space Mountain was two hours long, but with a Fastpass, we walked right on.  It was not as fun as I remember.  I seriously thought I was going to get whiplash.  Thunder Mountain was much better.

The crowds kept building and by noon, it seemed like a sea of people.

Most rides had really long lines, so we did the Hall of Presidents, walked through the Swiss Family Robison Treehouse and rode the People Mover (all with no lines).

It was finally time to use our last fastpasses for Buzz Lightyear.  It was a new ride for me and now one of my favorites.  Each car has a joystick so you can make your car spin around while shooting lasers at targets throughout the ride!

By 3:30pm we'd all done enough and were ready to head home.

Our Private Perfect Beach

After spending the morning at the Aquarium, Jake took a nap, Grace played with Grandpa, I shopped and Matt went for a run.  After dinner I took the kids to a playground and discovered a great little beach.  I didn't think our usual beach, right across the street from the house, would be a good plan since  there were unusually high winds.  It's not fun to go to the beach when it's really windy, cold and there is sand blowing in your face.    This place, however, looked perfect.  It's a little beach on the inter-coastal side about a mile from the house.  The water is calm and shallow and it's protected from the winds.   I couldn't wait to come back the next day when it would be sunnier.

Clearwater Marine Aquarium

Our first day in Florida was really windy and a little cool but an improvement over Strongsville (30 degrees and snowing).  Since it wasn't a great beach day we decided to head to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium to see Winter (the dolphin).  We had fun looking at the fish, sharks, dolphins, otters, and sting rays.  The kids were probably the most excited about picking out stuffed dolphins that Grandpa bought for them!

Panama and Winter

Florida!!

It was a LONG trip but we finally made it! We had a two hour drive to Columbus, a three hour wait at the airport (including a one hour flight delay), a two hour flight with LOTS of turbulence, two hours of waiting for bags and the longest rental car line ever, and a two hour drive with toll and construction backups!!! We left Cleveland at 1:30pm and finally arrived at 12:30am, almost three hours later than expected! I wondered at times if it was all worth it, but stepping foot on the beach the next morning in sandals and shorts (despite it being grey and windy) I knew it was most definitely worth it!

Win Some, Lose Some?

You know the saying "win some, lose some."  Well, I was starting to feel like Grace was winning NONE, and her friend (we'll call her Mary) was winning them all.  Mary is in Grace's Girl Scout Troop and in her class.  I'm also friends with her mom.  She's recently won several things at events that we all attended including a raffle; a game we played at the Valentine's Day class party; and the cake walk game at girl scouts World Friendship Day.  She's a sweet, smart kid which makes me feel bad for getting annoyed that she keeps winning things, but seriously how many things can one person win!

I was hoping that Grace would win (at least not lose) the Power Puff Derby (a girl scout event where you build a car and race it at the mall against others your age).  Apparently it's a pretty big annual event here in Strongsville.  I thought we might have a decent chance since Matt is both competitive and an engineer.  Well, Matt did the right thing and let Grace help a lot with building and picking the design.  Many Father's, however, think this event is for them.  There's no way, some of these cars were built/painted by seven year olds. 

On race day I was telling Grace "it doesn't matter if you win or lose" (blah, blah, blah), but inside I was really hoping her car would do well.  Anyway, she did not win, in fact, she tied for last place (29th).  Her car was in four races and lost them all!  Luckily I think I was more disappointed than Grace.  Oh well, it was a new, interesting experience and I'm glad we did it.  Grace learned some things and had fun.  Winning isn't everything, right?

Oh, and by the way, Mary didn't win either, she got 14th, but she did win first place for design :) 

Maybe next time?

Fire Stations and Fears

We went to the Fire Station with Grace's Girl Scout Troop last month.  It's a really nice, new station with lots of vehicles.  The firemen were great, they answered lots of questions and tried on their uniform for the girls to see.  The girls had a great time!

Jake got to go too.  Last time Jake and I went (4 months ago), he loved it.  This time he was scared of every little noise (like a door shutting) and didn't really have a good time.  He wanted me to hold him the whole time, which was hard because I was also trying to take pictures.  I recently read that "Childhood fears are a natural part of development.   Toddlers commonly fear loud noises and being separated from their parents."   Awesome!

Nap Time

About two months ago Jake stopped napping in his room.  I would tuck him in his bed and he would keep coming out of his room no matter how much bribing, yelling and begging I would do.  I knew he still needed a nap (I needed his naps too) so I didn't give up.  One day, after a long battle, it got quiet and I thought he finally fell asleep.  I went to check on him in his room and he wasn't there!  It was a little worrisome for a few minutes, but then I found him:  he had crept downstairs and fallen asleep on the dining room floor!

Somehow I realized the problem was separation anxiety.  He didn't want to be away from me, not even in the next room.  Usually I'm on the computer while he's napping, so I tried letting him lay down next to me.  Now he takes a pretty good nap on the floor of the office every day.   He's sleeping peacefully next to me as I type.

Sometimes, he likes to very carefully place his animals, trucks and other random toys around him.  I try to be patient and let him do it, because if I try to help move anything, even an inch, there's trouble.